AP/Deaths from MERS virus reach 348 in Saudi Arabia

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry says that a total of 348 people have died in the kingdom after contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS.

The ministry’s latest figures, released late Tuesday, include two recent deaths recorded in the capital Riyadh. It brings to 810 the number of confirmed cases in Saudi Arabia since the virus was first identified in 2012.

The virus has since spread to other parts of the world, though it has mostly remained centered in Saudi Arabia. MERS belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses that include both the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The kingdom launched an effort to improve its anti-infection measures earlier this year after a number of health workers died from the virus.